


Wish on Winter Starlight

by Echofell



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Title is subject to change, and I'm giving them a Christmas, and a confirmed i love you, friends like Tetsuo and Tokunosuke have been removed entirely so i can pretend they don't exist, guess i gotta finish this now instead of thinking i will right when it's almost christmas, once it's soft and sweet more shippiness will follow suit, rated T for potential swearing throughout, slightly aged up Yuma, the sweet interactions kind of shippiness, these two are so canon and that's the tea, zexal is a mess but boy do I love these good boys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-23 10:04:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17078258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echofell/pseuds/Echofell
Summary: As Christmas draws near, Astral questions Yuma of the traditions surrounding the holiday. When Yuma sees Astral immerse himself in the holiday spirit, he makes a selfless Christmas wish. I.e., Astral discovers Christmas and the traditional holiday staples, a chapter for each thing he learns and some fun along the way. Astral and Yuma grow closer, and Astral gains the ability to “feel,” to touch, and gets to enjoy some holiday experiences himself.





	1. Christmas

He’s older now. Sixteen. He’d cut the back of his hair and calmed his bangs to be less spiked—but still pink. He wears the blue-trimmed uniform for second-year students now. Heartland hasn’t changed. The streams winding through the outskirts of the city, the picturesque antique stores, the cat cafes, the bustling railways.

 

Yuma traces fingers over his right hand as he waits to cross the intersection. It’s December third, and the air is dry—far drier than the usual humidity and a harsh contrast to the summers, obvious enough by the papery texture of his usually-soft hands. The weather had even been cold enough already to nearly snow, though it hadn’t stuck.

 

Yuma still walks the same route home from school. He still struggles to pay attention in class. He still duels his friends after school and goes home to be alone in his attic. Well, not entirely alone. He still has Astral. And like everything else, Astral hasn’t changed either. They still bicker about the little things and talk late into the nights, watching television and movies and documentaries together. And Astral is still fascinated by it all, absorbing all the new information he can while also being almost entirely accustomed to life in Japan.

 

The only thing that had changed between them was how Yuma felt about him. In no way was Astral a hindrance or source of annoyance anymore. Granted, he hadn’t been for a while, but they’d only grown closer since their original adventures. Yuma had moved on after that—he’d left some friends behind, all on good terms, and kept some too. But Astral was still his favorite. His constant companion. His everything. Life had been empty without him, and Yuma didn’t know how his mental state would be if Astral hadn’t returned to remain at his side.

 

In time with December, storefronts began to decorate for Christmas. Small trees decorated with white lights and small glass ornaments, with branches of evergreens weaved in between and underneath them, are being displayed in shop windows. Anime and manga stores have stuffed animals wearing sweaters and knit hats, and collector’s edition Christmas-themed figurines. Customers periodically enter and exit street-side shops as Yuma follows the sidewalks home, and cheerful music chimes from inside. Christmas is more commercial than anything in Japan, and stores were already starting to capitalize on that, warm with melting gingerbread candles and Japanese renditions of northern carols.

 

Though it’s the usual for Yuma, it isn’t for Astral. He turns to Yuma along for an explanation as he hovers by his side.

 

“What are all these decorations for, Yuma?”

 

“Christmas is this month.” Yuma smiles, glancing around while humming a song Astral hasn’t heard before.

 

“Christmas—I have heard this term before. What is Christmas?” the spirit asked promptly.

 

Yuma looked up at the pale gray clouds. “Religiously, it’s a day to celebrate the birth of Christ.”

 

“Christ?”

 

“A lot of religions are based around him. Supposedly, he performed a lot of miracles to heal people.”

 

Astral blinks. “That doesn’t sound like something a human could do.”

 

Yuma laughs. To be fair, it’s a hard concept for him to grasp too. “It’s okay. It’s complicated. I’ll let you read about him later, okay?” Astral nods, prompting Yuma to continue.

 

“Anyway, it’s a more religious holiday elsewhere. Here, it’s just commercial. You give gifts to your loved ones, be with your family, celebrate the winter season. It’s just a time to show the people you care about that you…well, care about them.”

 

Astral looks to the side, processing that information. “It seems like a nice holiday. I look forward to seeing it.”

Yuma  glances at someone helping a woman pick up the contents of a bag that she’d spilled. Astral is right—Christmas is a good holiday. It’s hard to be mad with lights shining from every house on the street. Something just feels different from the rest of the year. 

 

They arrive at Yuma’s home. “I’m home!” He slips the bag off his shoulders and sets it down with his shoes in the entryway. The house smells of chocolate and caramel, and he can faintly hear Christmas music. Walking inside the kitchen, he sees Akari at the mixer, scraping cookie dough off the side of the bowl with a spatula. She turns and smiles brightly.

 

“Hey!” Her hair is tied back as always, and she’s wearing a festive red apron with green-and-white striped pockets over a green sweater. “I’m just getting in the Christmas spirit. Will you eat some when I’m done?”

 

“You don’t even have to ask! What kind?”

 

“Turtle thumbprint. I found the recipe earlier online. Sugar cookie rolled in pecan, a caramel middle, thennn…chocolate drizzle over the top.” She motions with her head toward the stovetop, where two pots are slowly being heated. They’re clearly the source of the smell.

 

“Sounds really good. Call me when it’s done!”

 

He dashes out of the kitchen and runs upstairs to his bedroom.

 

As he slides into his bedroom, Yuma realizes that Akari’s radio is on in her bedroom, which is pouring out cheerful Christmas music. Also, Astral is suddenly gone.

 

Yuma retraces back to the door to see Astral hesitating in the hall, gazing toward Akari’s room. After a moment, he floats toward it and just hovers there, listening, his back to Yuma, observing.

 

Currently, the song is _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_ , which Yuma thinks explains the holiday well enough. Yuma approaches Astral with a small smile when the song finishes.

 

“It’s unlike any music I’ve heard,” Astral remarks, now listening to _Deck the Halls_. “It’s so cheerful.”

 

“There are Christmas songs that sound more serious,” Yuma says. “You know, ones with minor keys instead of major keys. Like _Carol of the Bells_. But they’re just as beautiful.”

 

“Who is Mary?”

 

Yuma laughs. “You’ll learn that when we look up who Christ is later.”

 

Astral looks away. “Alright then.”

 

“Well…want to watch some TV like usual? There’ll be Christmas music on for the next few weeks.”

 

Astral waits a few moments for the chorus to finish, then turns away and follows Yuma to his bedroom.


	2. Gifts

By the end of classes, Yuma is leaning over his desk, elbow on the surface, resting his head in his hand with an utterly bored expression. So, the usual. As soon as the bell rings, Kotori springs out of her seat and glances over at Yuma.

 

"Hey, Yuma!" She smiles. "I was thinking of stopping by the mall and looking for Christmas presents for my family. Wanna come?"

 

Yuma lifts his head and looks up at her. For the colder weather, she had started wearing black fleece tights and soft gray boots with her school skirt, and a pink winter coat. "Oh, the mall? You mean shopping? Uhh…"

 

He _hates_ shopping. _Especially_ when Akari drags him to the mall and feels the need to explore every store, whether she needed something there or not. Weren’t all girls like that? Surely any girl that actively wanted to go shopping was.

 

The Emperor's Key gleams, and Astral appears at Yuma's side. "Yuma, you should go," he advised. "It is the kind thing to do. Also, I would like to see what the mall looks like."

_Glad he’s picked up on good etiquette, I guess. Wait._ "Huh? You've been before. Why do you want to see what it looks like again?"

 

Astral tilts his head a bit. "Was I wrong to assume that the mall would be decorated as festively as the city streets are?"

 

"Oh." Yuma remembers how intrigued Astral had been by the Christmas decorations and lights gracing the storefronts along the city streets. "No, you're right. They decorate the mall too."

 

Astral had looked so enthralled by seeing the holiday streets for the first time, the lights reflecting in his different-colored eyes. His face soft, mouth open in a passive, still awe, his posture relaxed with arms uncrossed and hands ever so slightly reaching out to the displays he saw in storefronts and the snowflakes drifting from the sky….

 

“Hello, Yuma?”

_Shit._ “I’m here. Sorry. Sure, Kotori, uh… We’ll come along.”

 

* * *

 

Astral emerges from the Key the moment they step inside. The three immediately look up towards the ceiling, where oversized Christmas ornaments clipped to the ceilings. Shimmery silver and red garland arch from the balconies and twirl around the staircase railings, intertwined with white Christmas lights. In the center of the first floor there’s a huge artificial tree with red, green, and silver ornaments, strung with strands of colorful garland and a network of bright white lights. The branches are frosted silvery-white.

 

"It's so beautiful," Astral says softly, his aura glowing a little more brightly than usual.

 

Astral slips over to hover close to Yuma. Astral doesn’t smile much, but he looks more at ease than he usually is. That’s enough to know he’s enjoying it. A small smile tugs at Yuma’s mouth.

 

Realizing he’s staring at Astral, Yuma shakes his head.

 

"All the worthwhile stores are upstairs." Kotori jogs toward the escalators with a hop in her step, twirling around to urge Yuma on. "Come on, Yuma!"

 

Astral follows as Yuma picks up his pace, and turns his head to stare at the large decorative tree as they pass it. He wonders what its purpose is. He makes a mental note to ask Yuma about it later.

 

"I want to buy my mom a bracelet or some earrings," Kotori informs as she browses the tables and display cases of jewelry. Yuma trudges along behind, his energy having dropped the moment they entered the store. He had fun in the electronics store, and they had visited the candy shop and purchased themselves some sweets that they now carried in bags. But they had made it to the jewelry store, one of Yuma's least favorites.

 

The jewelry is pretty, sure, but he can only hold so much attention toward something he had no use for himself. Remembering Kotori's gratitude when he agreed to tag along, however, Yuma feigns interest and eyes the displays and black boxes along with her.

 

"My mom always gets me great gifts," Kotori says. "Now that I've saved a bit from babysitting the neighbor’s kids, I want to return the favor. I'm going to find her something just as good.”

 

"Yuma." Astral approached the boy's side, having been trailing behind him as usual. "What purpose do gifts hold at this time of the year?"

 

Yuma stops beside Kotori at another long display case and turns his attention to Astral. "You exchange gifts with those you're close to and love, like friends and family. Just to show you care. It’s fun."

 

Astral nods. "So you could give a gift to your sister, or Shark, or Kotori."

 

"Yep. Gifts can be anything. A sweet, something handmade, an electronic, whatever you think they’ll like." Yuma sighs. "Still, it's hard to think of what to get sometimes."

 

Astral gets in a "thank you" to Yuma before Kotori leans over a display case with her hands on the glass, growing visibly excited. "Aww! There's that necklace I've always wanted, and on sale!"

 

Yuma follows her gaze to see a silver heart necklace with a hollow center and a thick solid rim encrusted with small white crystals all over. The crystals must not have been real, because although not cheap, the necklace isn't very expensive.

 

"If you've always wanted it, why not buy it now?"

 

Kotori sighs gently, pulling back from the glass as her excitement fades to just a sad smile. "Even on sale, I don't have enough money to get it and afford gifts for my parents too." She holds her hands behind her back. " I'd love it as a gift, but I don't want to tell my mom exactly what to get me. It seems wrong to do that… I like being surprised."

 

She steps back from the display case. “Maybe it'll still be on sale for the new year if it's still here." She turns to Yuma with a light smile. "Well, I'll only be a few more minutes, Yuma. We can head home soon." She ventures off to view the last of the unexplored jewelry.

 

Yuma watched her go, an eyebrow raised in obvious confusion. "Girls make no sense. Even if it  _is_ still here at New Year's, she won't have money by then to buy it."

 

"Yuma." The boy looks at Astral, who seemed eager to tell him something. "Yuma, it seems Kotori wishes for you to 'gift' her with this necklace."

 

"What? No way. She can’t expect me to do that."

 

"But she said—"

 

"I can’t get her a _necklace_. That’s just weird."

 

“Why is that weird?”

 

“I don’t know, it’s just…serious! I don’t want to do that for her.”

 

“Christmas is for giving gifts to your loved ones. Do you not love her?”

 

Yuma squints. “I’d like to know how you’re using the word.”

 

“Love?”

 

“Yeah. _Love_.”

 

“I don’t know. Can’t you tell me that?”

 

Yuma groans. “Not enough to buy her expensive jewelry.”

 

“It’s not _that_ expensive—“

 

“Expensive enough for it to not come from me.”

 

Still confused, Astral just looks at Yuma, perplexed, as the boy walks off. He’s not really getting the whole aversion to buying his friend the gift she wants.

_It seems Yuma still does not understand the female brain_ , tacking the lack of progress onto the eleventh observation he had made many months prior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Astral doesn't get it. - I wanted to work in a reference to Astral's observations. Thanks for reading! Next up: Christmas trees.


End file.
